Sequencing content in an adaptive testing system: The role of choice

Abstract

The effect of choice on student achievement and engagement has been an extensively researched area of learning analytics. Current research findings suggest a positive relationship between choice and varied outcome measures, but little has been reported to indicate whether these findings hold in the context of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS). In this paper, we report the results of a randomized controlled experiment in which we investigate the effect of student choice on assignment completion and future achievement in an ITS. The experimental design uses three conditions to observe the effect of choice. In the first condition, students are able to choose the order in which to complete assignments, while in the second condition, students are prescribed an intuitive order in which to complete assignments. Those in the third condition were prescribed a counter-intuitive order in which to complete assignments. Results indicate that allowing students to choose the order in which to work on assignments leads to higher completion rates and better achievement at posttest. A post-hoc analysis also revealed that even considering students with similar completion rates, those given choice had higher posttest scores than those observed in any other condition. These results seem to support the many theories of the positive effect of choice on student achievement.